Portable heating units are used extensively to condition the air space, either indoor or outdoor, to provide more productive working conditions. In the construction industry, for example, subcontractors will typically perform higher quality work in a timelier manner if provided a heated work space during cold weather.
There are, however, good reasons to deny workers the use of a building's heating system during construction. This is because there are a good number of chemicals, such as paints, varnishes, and adhesives that will attack the materials in the heating venting and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, creating premature corrosion and/or other modes of failure.
Portable combustion heaters are one solution. However, combustion by-products are unpleasant to breathe, and typically require some venting of the work space which, in cold weather, makes for continual cold air drafts preventing a room from ultimately achieving a steady comfortable temperature. The combustion by-products can also adversely affect some chemicals used in construction such as stains and varnishes.
Electric space heaters are used is some instances, which resolves the combustion by-products problem. However, known electrical heaters are either very limited in the volume of air that can be comfortably heated, or are very obtrusive in the extent to which they create windage disturbances, generally creating continual hot and cold spots in the room. Basically, as pertaining to room comfort, an electric fan with a heater coil pushes around a good amount of cold air, making for a drafty solution.
What is needed is an electric total room conditioning solution, one that optimally heats the room air to bring it to a steady and comfortable temperature and without cold air drafts. What is also needed is a heater that provides an electrical supply source for powering equipment at the same time as the heater is powered by a common electrical drop. It is to these improvements and others as exemplified by the description and appended claims that embodiments of the present invention are directed.